Chased by a wolf

FAY: Four -Whiskey confessions

I hear a silent knock on my door. It's already 9.30. I frown. There's a rule in this house: be in your room at 9 and lights out by 10. Maybe the ice queen wants to make sure her little project is being a good girl and following her rules. There's a second nock and I moan. Slowly I get off the bed and walk to the door. Before I place my hand on the doorknob, I embrace myself to face Elise. Whatever she wants, I'm ready.

I open the door, but instead of Elise and her judgmental gaze, Max stands in the hallway with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes.

"Let's go out," she whispers and points the stairs with both index fingers. She's almost dancing out of excitement.

I put my finger against my lips to warn her to be quiet.

"We can't. It's almost 10," I more mouth than whisper. She pouts her lips and shakes her head.

"Meet me behind the garage at 11. And no, it's not negotiable," she says and walks back to the guest bedroom, giving me no time to tell her how bad it would be if Elise caught my doing it.

It's my turn to shake my head. I go back to my room thinking there's no way I'm leaving with her. I have to admit, I find Max fascinating. There's something about her that makes me want to be like her. The silent strength in her eyes even makes Elise all polite and respectful towards her. And above all, she is able to sense things. Instead of going back to my bed, I pull out the desk chair. There's another book borrowed from the alpha's study on the dark wooden desk. Elise has probably bought it from some fancy antique shop. I open the book and start reading. It takes a couple of sentences for me to realize my mind is running all over the place. I eye the page.

"Damn," I sigh. It's really hard to concentrate. Actually, it's really hard to want to concentrate. Samurai swords just don't do it for me right now. I roll my eyes.

"I'm not going," I say out loud.

Saying it out loud didn't help, because one hour and thirty-five minutes later, the borrowed Samurai book lies open on the desk, there are pillows placed under the blanket as if someone's sleeping in the bed and I am tiptoeing across the hallway, down the stairs to the front door. I hold my sneakers with my left hand and a bunch of keys in my right hand.

"What are you doing?" I hear whisper behind me. My heart jumps to my throat and I drop the keys. They make an awful sound as they hit the floor. Shit, I wince.

"You scared me," I mumble. I turn around and face the alpha's eldest son. He has his basketball shorts on, a towel hanging around his neck and his hair is wet.

"Running away, Holloway?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. I don't know if he's joking or not.

"No. Just um... I couldn't get sleep so I thought some fresh air would do me good."

"Sure. Just make sure you and fresh air come back in one piece before my mother notices."

His words surprise me. Did he see Max sneaking out? And why he is so nonchalantly not caring that I'm about to break his mother's holy rules?

"You're letting me go," I say. He tilts his head.

"I don't want to stand in your way," he says. There's something in his eyes that makes me think there's something behind his words. But I'm not going to think about it here so I pick the keys up from the floor.

"See ya," I whisper just before I open the door and step out.

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There's not much to see in Blackwood Bay so we just walk around and talk. Max is such a lovely person and fun to be around. Every time she says something, I can't help but marvel her lively expressions and gestures. It's not just her mouth that's speaking, it's her whole body. I like her sense of humor, but I also like how she doesn't have to hide behind being funny. She is deep and insightful too. I wish I were more like her.